With the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a major question has been circling the Marvel fanbase: Where is the MCU going? There have been ten or so entries in Phase Four so far, and it seems like they are spinning off into all kinds of directions. It's strange, because the Infinity Saga was one, streamlined story. Everything was building towards Infinity War and Endgame. That doesn't seem to be the case for the future Phases of the MCU. I think they are splitting the Marvel universe into eight different sections, and I'm going to cover them all in this post. So here is my theory as to where the MCU is going in the next ten or so years.
The Streets of the MCU
This includes Black Widow, Hawkeye, She-Hulk, Daredevil, Echo
has always had the Marvel Netflix shows as their street section of their universe, but I think they are bringing them more to the forefront. Kingpin showed up as the main antagonist of Hawkeye, Daredevil made an appearance in No Way Home, and we know there's an Echo TV show planned. I think there's going to be a re-emergence of every Marvel Netflix character. I bet Jessica Jones and/or Luke Cage shows up in She-Hulk, and Punisher and Iron Fist will pop up sometime soon. Where this Marvel street section is going? I don't know. This might be heading towards some sort of underground crime battle, but I honestly have no clue.
The Thunderbolts
This includes The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow
With the appearance of Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in a few MCU movies and shows, the circling theory has been that Marvel is building up to the Thunderbolts, which is basically the MCU's Suicide Squad. I think that Agatha Harkness will be recruited by Val in House of Harkness. I also feel like she'll show up in She-Hulk, but I don't entirely know. The Thunderbolts will likely get their own movie or show, and that sounds fun. I bet there's some kind of eventual battle between them and the Avengers. That'd be cool.
The Multiverse of Madness
This includes Loki, What If...?, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
The multiverse is probably the biggest section of Marvel right now. I believe that this is the main storyline of Phases Four, Five, and any other future Marvel phase. I absolutely think that this is the most interesting part of the current MCU. I was disappointed by Multiverse of Madness because of the underutilized titular multiverse. Kang the Conqueror seems to be the next big bad of the MCU. Doctor Strange is probably the most interesting character in the MCU right now. The multiverse is easily the coolest part of the current MCU, and I really want them to explore it more. The MCU projects that I'm most anticipating are almost all multiverse stories. There's just so much potential for awesomeness. I cannot wait to see the future of this crazy storyline.
The Gods of the MCU
This includes Eternals, Moon Knight, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Wakanda
One thing that the MCU doesn't often touch on is gods...and then Moon Knight showed us that there are tons of them. Eternals is essentially about gods. The villain of Thor: Love and Thunder is called Gorr the God Butcher. Bast, the panther goddess, may make an appearance in Wakanda Forever. This is one section of the MCU that I'm intrigued by...but also a little confused. As soon as you introduce gods into the MCU, the question of "Why didn't they help fight Thanos?" comes up. So that worries me. But, hopefully, they work their way around that and make something really cool.
The Cosmic Realm
This includes Thor: Love and Thunder, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Secret Invasion, Nova
This is another really cool part of the MCU that I'm excited to see. While we've seen plenty of space stuff, I'm just excited to see more of it. Love and Thunder is gonna be fun. I'm really excited for the next few Guardians of the Galaxy projects. They're introducing Adam Warlock soon. Captain Marvel, Photon, and Ms. Marvel are going to team up in The Marvels. And Secret Invasion is going to be super cool. They can take this cosmic realm in any number of places, and I'm very excited to see where it goes.
The Supernatural Realm
This includes Moon Knight, Werewolf by Night, Blade, Marvel Zombies
The supernatural realm is, I think, going to be a more horror-centric part of the MCU. Moon Knight showed us a tiny bit of supernatural horror, but I think we're going to fully dive into that in the Halloween special that we're getting in October of this year. Blade is about vampires. And I'm sure they will re-introduce Ghost Rider soon. I bet we're building towards the Midnight Sons...which would be absolutely amazing. I'm very excited to have a horror section of the MCU, and I hope we eventually get the Midnight Sons.
The Young Avengers
This includes WandaVision, Hawkeye, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Ms. Marvel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ironheart
This is one of the more overt setups that Phase Four has been building towards. In the comics, the Young Avengers are basically kids / teenagers with superpowers that form their own version of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. With Billy and Tommy Maximoff appearing in WandaVision, Kate Bishop in Hawkeye, and Ms. Marvel receiving her own show, it's pretty clear that the MCU is aiming for a Young Avengers movie or TV show. It's almost like the Teen Titans, but Marvel. I'm interested. I'm not a huge Young Avengers fan, but I am intrigued.
The New Avengers
This includes The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Thor: Love and Thunder, She-Hulk, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Fantastic Four
Despite Endgame being the last main Avengers movie, it seems like the group will still be around in the future. Heroes such as Shang-Chi and She-Hulk are being introduced into the MCU. The Fantastic Four are getting their own movie. The Avengers are definitely still around. With Falcon holding the shield, he'll probably be the leader of Earth's Mightiest, but I could see Spider-Man popping up and truly taking over as the next Iron Man. I don't know if there will be a fifth Avengers film, but the team will never truly go away.
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